Spline wear gauge

ABSTRACT

The spline wear gauge disclosed herein comprises several forms which may be utilized for gauging external or internal splines. Each form comprises two gauge members having circumferentially spaced spline teeth, the teeth on one of the members having an addendum longer than the teeth on the other of the members. The members are rotatable relative to one another so that when they are brought into position adjacent the spline being gauged and rotated relative to one another, one of the members contacts the spline teeth of the spline being gauged at a different position when the other of the members. Any wear on the teeth will be evident by a relative rotational movement that is shown visually by a dial indicator on the gauge body.

United States Patent 51 June 13, 1972 Riddell [54] SPLINE WEAR GAUGE[72] Inventor: Vernon A. Riddell, Mt. Clemens, Mich.

[73] Assignee: Thiokol Chemical Corporation, Bristol, Pa.

[22] Filed: March 5, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 16,668

[5 2] US. Cl. ..33/ 179.5 R

[51] Int. Cl. ..G0lm 13/02 [58] Field of Search ..33/174 A, l79.5 R,179.5 A, 33/1795 B, 179.5 C, DIG. 14

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,507,049 4/1970 Heldt..33/179.5 R 2,849,802 9/1958 Stapleton ..33/l 79.5 B

I VIEW- Primary Examiner-Leonard Forman Assistant Examiner-Dennis A.Dearing Altorney-Barnes, Kisselle, Raisch & Choate ABSTRACT The splinewear gauge disclosed herein comprises several forms which may beutilized for gauging external or internal splines. Each form comprisestwo gauge members having circumferentially spaced spline teeth, theteeth on one of the members having an addendum longer than the teeth onthe other of the members. The members are rotatable relative to oneanother so that when they are brought into position adjacent the splinebeing gauged and rotated relative to one another, one of the memberscontacts the spline teeth of the spline being gauged at a differentposition when the other of the members. Any wear on the teeth will beevident by a relative rotational movement that is shown visually by adial indicator on the gauge body.

7 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUH 13 I972 3, 668, 783 SHEET 10F 4INVENTOR. VERNON A. RIDDELL BY M 76% M M ATTORNEYS xwzzmmwmlm 3.668.783SHEET 20F 4 INVENTOR. VERNON A. RIDDELL BY flax/aw, Wee, $440122ATTOR/VE Y5 PATENTEDJUH 13 I972 3. 668,783 sum 30F 4 X 5/ INVENTOR.

VERNON A. RIDDELL iATENTEDJUN 13 I972 3. 668 783 no. I4

INVENTOR. VERNON A. RIDDELL BY a M W M ATTORNEYS 1 SPLINE WEAR GAUGEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is common to make splines with hardenedteeth, the hardening being efiective for a predetermined depth on theteeth. As the spline wears in use, the hardened surface wears away andeventually the spline has worn to a position wherein the surface of theteeth of the spline are no longer hardened. It is desirable to be ableto sense or gauge the wear of the spline teeth and determine the depthof the wear as it occurs.

In the copending application of Michel P. I-Ieldt and Vernon A. Riddell,Ser. No. 723,976, filed Apr. 22, I968 titled Spline Wear Gauge, andhaving a common assignee with the present application, there isdisclosed and claimed a spline wear gauge comprising two gauge membershaving circumferentially spaced spline teeth, the teeth on one of themembers having an addendum longer than the teeth on the other of themembers. The members are rotatable relative to one another so that whenthey are brought into position adjacent the spline being gauged androtated relative to one another, one of the members contacts the splineteeth of the spline being gauged at a different position than the otherof the members. Any wear on the teeth will be evident by a relativerotational movement that is shown visually by a dial indicator on thegauge body. I

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide an improvedspline wear gauge of the type in the aforementioned patent applicationwhich will efiectively gauge the wear of the spline teeth, which isrelatively simple, low in cost, easily manipulated, and portable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS F IG. 1 is a part sectional plan view of agauge embodying the invention. I FIG. 2 is a side elevational view ofthe gauge shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3'is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG.2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG.1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken alongthe line s s in FIG.1.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6-6 inFIG. 1. v

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the gauge shown inFIG. 6. 7

FIG. 8 is a partly diagrammatic view on an enlarged scale of therelative positions of the teeth during gauging'of a spline.

FIG. 9 is a part sectional front view of a modified form of a gauge.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 1010 in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary end view of the gauge shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 12-12 inFIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 13-13 inFIG. 10.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 14-14 inFIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 8, the problem to which the applicant'sinvention is directed may be better understood by describing a portionof a workpiece W having spline teeth T, the wear of which is to begauged. In use the surfaces S of the teeth which are normally hardenedwear, the wear occurring because of the intermeshing of the teeth of thespline with the teeth of a mating spline member. As shown in exaggeratedform in FIG. 8, the surface S wears in use with respect to a portion ofthe tooth near the base thereof S".

:The splines conventionally have convolute configurations in accordancewith generally accepted standards wherein the shaped portion of theteeth extend radially beyond the pitch diameter to insure good toothcontact throughout.

In accordance with conventional design of spline teeth, the portion S"is of correct configuration and therefore the displacement angularlybetween the surfaces S" and S is a measure of the wear on the teeth.

In accordance with the invention, the wear is measured by providing twogauge members 20, 21, that are coaxial and have teeth 22, 23,respectively, the addendum on the teeth 22 being shorter than theaddendum on the teeth 23. When the gauge members 20, 21 which normallyhave their teeth axially aligned are brought into position adjacent thespline of the workpiece W which is to be gauged and they are rotatedrelative to one another, the surface of the teeth 22 will engage thesurfaces S and the surface of the teeth 23 will engage the surface Sproducing a relative displacement between the two members 20, 21 as ameasure of the amount of wear of the spline teeth.

As shown in FIGS. 1-7, the gauging members 20, 21 are mounted in a body25 that includes two sections 26, 27. As shown in FIG. 5, gauging member20 is telescoped within an opening 27 in body section 26 and a screw 28extends through the gauging member 20 into engagement with an opening inthe body section 27. A flange 30 on the body section 26 engages the bodysection 26 to clamp the body section 26 against the body section 27.

Gauging member 21 is rotatably mounted in a cavity 31 in gauging member20. A pushing gauging member 32 is rotatably mounted in a cavity 27a inbody section 27 and in fixed gauging member 20. Gauging member 32includes spline teeth 33 having a length substantially equal to thelength of the teeth 22, namely, having a shorter addendum.

As shown in FIG. 3, pushing gauging member 32 includes a radialprojection 34. Projection 34 extends into a cavity 35 of a slide 36 thatis adapted to be moved transversely in an opening 37. Springs 38a; 38bare interposed between the projection 34 and the ends of the cavity 35.The position of the slide 36 is controlled by a knob 38. Knob 38 isrotatably mounted in body section 27 and actuates an eccentric pin 39supported thereon that extends into a slot 40 in the slide. In theposition shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the pin 39 maintains the slide 36 and,in turn, the pushing gauging member 32 in a centered position whereinthe teeth 33 of the pusher. are axially aligned with the teeth 22, 23 ofthe gauging members 20, 21.

In this position, a spring-loaded ball 41 is, urged by a spring 42against a notch 43 in the periphery of the movable gauging member 21,thereby tending to center the gauging member 21.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a spring-loaded detent ball 44 in the knob 38is adapted to engage selectively openings or recesses 45, 45a, 45b inthe body section 27 so that the knob can be rotated in one direction oranother bringing the detent 44 into engagement with one of the openings45a, 45b. In each of these positions, the pin 39 is displaced causingthe slide 36 to become displaced to the right or the left, as viewed inFIG. 3 against the action of one of the springs 38b, 38a.

The gauge further includes a dial indicator 46 of conventionalconstruction having a plunger 47 that is adapted to engage a pin 48 onthe movable gauging member 21 and move therewith to indicate therelative displacement of the gauging member 21 with respect to thegauging member 20.

In use, the spline to be gauged is brought into position with the teethof the spline being gauged adjacent the teeth 22, 23, 33. The knob isthen rotated in one direction or another to bring the detent 44 intoengagement with one of the openings 45a, 45b depending upon which sideof teeth are to be gauged for wear. This moves the slide 36 through pin39 yieldingly urging the pushing member 32 through one of the springs38a, 38b and projection 34 against one surface of the teeth of thespline being gauged. This produces a reaction force forcing the bodyand, in turn, the teeth 22, 23 into engagement with the oppositesurfaces of the teeth of the spline being gauged.

Sincethe addendum of the teeth 23 islonger than the teeth 22, the teeth23 will engage the surfaces S" adjacent the base of the teeth while theteeth 22 will engage the surfaces S. If there is wear as viewed in-FIG.8, there will be a relative rotational displacement between the members20, 21 resulting in a visual indication on the gauge 46 that is directlyrelated to the degree of wear between the surfaces S and S". i

Q The form of the invention shown in FIGS. 9-14 isintended for gauginginternal spline and comprises a body 50 made of two sections 51, 52 heldin assembled relation by screws 53. A first tubular gauging element 54is fixed to the body section 51 and extends axially therefrom. The endof the section 54 is provided with circumferentially spaced spline teeth55. A second tubular gauging member 56 is rotatably mounted within thetubular member 54 and has radially extending teeth 57 adjacent to teeth55. A third pushing gauging member 58 having teeth 59 is fixed by a pin59 on a rod 60 which is concentric with the members 54, 56 and extendsaxially through a space 61 in the body section 51. A bushing 62 is fixedon the rod 60 and is journalled in an opening 63 in the body section l.

Bushing 62 includes a radial projection 64 that extends into a cavity 65of the slide 66 that is mounted for transverse movement in an opening67. As in the previous form of the invention, springs 68 interposedbetween the projection 44 and the end of slide 66 yieldingly urge thepushing gauging member 58 toward a central position with respect to thecavity. A knob 70 .is journalled on the housing section 52 and isprovided with an eccentric pin 7l thereon that extends into a slot 72 inthe slide 66 to control the position of the slide. A spring-loaded ball73 is adapted to engage one of several detents 74 to hold the knob inany adjusted position as in the previous form of the invention. i

The rotatable gauging element 56 is releasably maintained in a neutralposition under the action of a detent ball 75 engaging a V-shaped notch76 in the periphery of a member 77 that is fixed on the end of thetubular member 56. Ball 75 is mounted in a rotatable member 75a which ismoved by a pin 75b on slide 66 extending into a slot 75c in member 75a.

As in the previous form of the invention, the dial gauge 77 having aplunger 78 is adapted to engage a pin 79 on the rotatable gauging memberand moves therewith.

In each form of the invention, the positioning member moves along a linetangent to a circle having the axes of the gauging members as a center iThe spline wear gauge shown in FIGS. 9-14 is operated in substantiallythe same manner as that shown in FIGS. l8. The spline to be gauged isbrought into position with the teeth of the spline. being gaugedadjacent the teeth 55, 57, 59 when the teeth 55, 57, 59 are aligned.Knob 70 is then rotated to bring spring-loaded ball 73 into engagementwith one or the other of the detents depending upon which side of theteeth of the spline is to be gauged. This causes pin 71 to move slide 66and, in turn, yieldingly urge the pushing gauging member 58 which isfixed to bushing 62 against one surface of the teeth of the spline beinggaugedfThis produces a reaction force forcing the body and, in turn, theteeth 55, 57 of the gauging members into engagement with the oppositesurfaces of the teeth of the spline being gauged. Since the addendum ofthe teeth 55 is longer than the teeth 57, the teeth 55 will engage thesurfaces adjacent the base of the teeth while the teeth 57 will engagethe surfaces spaced from the base of the teeth. If there is wear, therewill be a relative rotational displacement between the members 54, 56resulting in a visual indication on the gauge 77 that is directlyrelated to the degree of wear.

I claim:

,1. In a-spline wear gauge, the combination comprising a body, l

' a first gauge member having circumferentially spaced teeth on saidbody, I

' a second gauge member having circumferentially spaced teeth on saidbody,

the addendum on one of said teeth on one of said gauge members beinglonger titan the addendum of the teeth on the other of said splinemembers,

a third gauge member having circumferentially spaced teeth and beingrotatably mounted on said body,

the addendum of the teeth on said first and third gauge members beingsubstantially equal,

the addendum of the teeth on said second gauge member being longer thanthe addendum of the teeth on said first and third gauge members,

said members being coaxially aligned and in one position having theteeth thereof axially aligned,

means for rotating said third gauge member relative to said first andsecond gauge members so that a reaction force is produced against oneface of the teeth of the spline being gauged to urge the first andsecond gauge members against the opposite surfaces of at least some ofthe teeth of the spline member being gauged,

said last-mentioned means comprising a positioning member mounted forreciprocating movement in said body in a line generally tangent to acircle having the axes of said gauge members as a center,

first spring means between said positioning member and said thirdgauging member yieldingly urging said third gauging member in onedirection,

second spring means between said positioning member and said thirdgauging member ,yieldably urging said third gauging member in anopposite direction,

said teeth of said third gauging member being normally aligned with theteeth of said first and second gauging members, I

manually operable means on said body and engageable with saidpositioning member moving said positioning member between a normalposition and positions to each side of a normal position,

said manually operable means including means for holding said manuallyoperable means in each of said positions,

whereby when said gauge is brought into position adjacent a spline to begauged and said positioning member is actuated by actuation of themanually operable means to one j position or another from said normalposition, the addendum of the teeth of one of said first and secondgauge members will engage the teeth of the spline being gauged at oneportion'thereof and the addendum of the teeth on the other of said firstand second gauge'members will engage the teeth of the spline beinggauged at another point radially of the teeth so that the relativedisplacement angularly of the first and second gauge members will be ameasure of the wear of the teeth.

2. The combination set forth in claim tioning member includes a slot,

said third gauging member includes a into said slot, said first springmeans being interposed between said projection and one end of said slot,

said second spring means being interposed between said projection andthe other end of said slot.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said manually operablemeans includes a knob rotatably mounted on said body, and meansinterconnecting said knob and said positioning member.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein said meansinterconnecting said knob andsaid positioning member comprises a pin onsaid knob and a slot in said positioning member. I Y

5. The combination set forth in claim 1' wherein said teeth on saidgauge members extend radially outwardly for gauging an internal spline.

6. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the teeth of said gaugemembers extend radially inwardly for gauging an external spline.

7. The combination set forth in claim 1 including gauge means on saidbody responsive to the movement of said 1 wherein said posiprojectionextending second gauge member with respect to said first gauge member.

1. In a spline wear gauge, the combination comprising a body, a firstgauge member having circumferentially spaced teeth on said body, asecond gauge member having circumferentially spaced teeth on said body,the addendum on one of said teeth on one of said gauge members beinglonger than the addendum of the teeth on the other of said splinemembers, a third gauge member having circumferentially spaced teeth andbeing rotatably mounted on said body, the addendum of the teeth on saidfirst and third gauge members being substantially equal, the addendum ofthe teeth on said second gauge member being longer than the addendum ofthe teeth on said first and third gauge members, said members beingcoaxially aligned and in one position having the teeth thereof axiallyaligned, means for rotating said third gauge member relative to saidfirst and second gauge members so that a reaction force is producedagainst one face of the teeth of the spline being gauged to urge thefirst and second gauge members against the opposite surfaces of at leastsome of the teeth of the spline member being gauged, said last-mentionedmeans comprising a positioning member mounted for reciprocating movementin said body in a line generally tangent to a circle having the axes ofsaid gauge members as a center, first spring means between saidpositioning member and said third gauging member yieldingly urging saidthird gauging member in one direction, second spring means between saidpositioning member and said third gauging member yieldably urging saidthird gauging member in an opposite direction, said teeth of said thirdgauging member being normally aligned with the teeth of said first andsecond gauging members, manually operable means on said body andengageable with said positioning member moving said positioning memberbetween a normal position and positions to each side of a normalposition, said manually operable means including means for holding saidmanually operable means in each of said positions, whereby when saidgauge is brought into position adjacent a spline to be gauged and saidpositioning member is actuated by actuation of the manually operablemeans to one position or another from said normal position, the addendumof the teeth of one of said first and second gauge members will engagethe teeth of the spline being gauged at one portion thereof and theaddendum of the teeth on the other of said first and second gaugemembers will engage the teeth of the spline being gauged at anotherpoint radially of the teeth so that the relative displacement angularlyof the first and second gauge members will be a measure of the wear ofthe teeth.
 2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein saidpositioning member includes a slot, said third gauging member includes aprojection extending into said slot, said first spring means beinginterposed between said projection and one end of said slot, said secondspriNg means being interposed between said projection and the other endof said slot.
 3. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein saidmanually operable means includes a knob rotatably mounted on said body,and means interconnecting said knob and said positioning member.
 4. Thecombination set forth in claim 3 wherein said means interconnecting saidknob and said positioning member comprises a pin on said knob and a slotin said positioning member.
 5. The combination set forth in claim 1wherein said teeth on said gauge members extend radially outwardly forgauging an internal spline.
 6. The combination set forth in claim 1wherein the teeth of said gauge members extend radially inwardly forgauging an external spline.
 7. The combination set forth in claim 1including gauge means on said body responsive to the movement of saidsecond gauge member with respect to said first gauge member.